TRAINING LIFTIES

As the bullwheels begin to turn throughout North America, lift operators are being hired and brought on board to load lifts and hopefully have a great season of skiing and riding. The operating of lifts, albeit at times a boring duty is one of the most important responsibilities within a ski area. Often, the position is downplayed and looked at by supervisors and managers as a low paying necessary evil they have to deal with during the winter, a regrettable attitude for sure.

This period of time, November, and early December is critical to the success of lift operations in my mind. The onboarding process and training provided between now and Christmas makes so much difference in how lift operations perform over the course of the season. Of course, trying to address it now, is a bit like trying to put your finger in the dike to stave off the flood. The importance of a well thought out training program for lift operators is something that should have been planned with the Human Resources department last spring and fully developed over the course of the summer. This takes time and resources, something that management often does not invest in.

The advancement of technology has offered the ability to train lift operators online enabling excellent training before the lift operators appear on the mountain to do their hands-on training. Bullwheel Productions offers a great video online tool, one that enables tracking and testing so that all of your staff are getting consistent quality training. Bullwheel has its genesis in a ski area and the backers of the company are successful ski area operators, they fully understand the need and the value of good training. Here is a great video from the company’s website about Bullwheel Productions. I have no affiliation with Bullwheel, I do know James Dubendorff, creator of Bullwheel Productions and I would receive no benefit from you utilizing this product. To me, it is a good tool and one that should be in every Lift Operations manager’s toolbox.

The recent ski lift incident in Gudauri, Georgia has certainly gotten plenty of air time and I am sure you have seen various posts about this unfortunate incident. It is remarkable that the injuries that did occur were not more serious and that there were …Read More »

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Just read a great article in Forbes that was about retirement but brought home a couple of different perspectives for me, How One Woman Landed Her Dream Second Act Job (Only page 1 is relevant to this discussion) They were: Kudos to Deer Valley for sending …Read More »

Ski Industry Consultant Bob Ackland

Bob has spent 18 years in the ski industry, mostly in a senior management role. He has developed a keen understanding of the relationship between work process and staff behavior.

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About Steep Management

Developed For Ski Industry Professionals, by Ski Industry Professionals

Steep Management has experience in ski area operations, particularly with the challenges of strategic daily routines and workflow. Through our software products we can assist you in maintaining focus on those things which you and your team need to meet your goals and objectives.